The World Until Yesterday
What Can We Learn from Traditional Societies?
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Narrated by:
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Jay Snyder
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By:
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Jared Diamond
About this listen
Most of us take for granted the features of our modern society, from air travel and telecommunications to literacy and obesity. Yet for nearly all of its six million years of existence, human society had none of these things. While the gulf that divides us from our primitive ancestors may seem unbridgeably wide, we can glimpse much of our former lifestyle in those largely traditional societies still or recently in existence. Societies like those of the New Guinea Highlanders remind us that it was only yesterday - in evolutionary time - when everything changed and that we moderns still possess bodies and social practices often better adapted to traditional than to modern conditions.
The World Until Yesterday provides a mesmerizing firsthand picture of the human past as it had been for millions of years - a past that has mostly vanished - and considers what the differences between that past and our present mean for our lives today.
This is Jared Diamond’s most personal book to date, as he draws extensively from his decades of field work in the Pacific islands, as well as evidence from Inuit, Amazonian Indians, Kalahari San people, and others. Diamond doesn’t romanticize traditional societies - after all, we are shocked by some of their practices - but he finds that their solutions to universal human problems such as child rearing, elder care, dispute resolution, risk, and physical fitness have much to teach us. A characteristically provocative, enlightening, and entertaining book, The World Until Yesterday will be essential and delightful listening.
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If you want to explore the shocking history of the Native Americans then keep reading...In this captivating history audiobook, you will discover the shocking and controversial history of the Native Americans. Native American History: A Captivating Guide to the Long History of Native Americans Including Stories of the Wounded Knee Massacre, Native American Tribes, Hiawatha and More includes topics such as: Startlin Theories of the arrival of the first Native Americans, the current understanding of similar and rival tribes based on region, and more.
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Fascinating Guide to the Long History NA.
- By Zulma Heredia Pantoja on 11-30-18
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Clash of Cultures
- Prehistory-1638
- By: Christopher Collier, James Lincoln Collier
- Narrated by: Jim Manchester
- Length: 1 hr and 58 mins
- Unabridged
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History is dramatic - and the renowned, award-winning authors Christopher Collier and James Lincoln Collier demonstrate this in this compelling series aimed at young listeners. Covering American history from the founding of Jamestown through the present day, these volumes explore far beyond the dates and events of a historical chronicle to present a moving illumination of the ideas, opinions, attitudes and tribulations that led to the birth of this great nation.
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good context
- By MonicaB on 03-03-20
By: Christopher Collier, and others
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The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee
- Native America from 1890 to the Present
- By: David Treuer
- Narrated by: Tanis Parenteau
- Length: 17 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
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The received idea of Native American history - as promulgated by books like Dee Brown's mega-bestselling 1970 Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee - has been that American Indian history essentially ended with the 1890 massacre at Wounded Knee. Not only did 150 Sioux die at the hands of the US Cavalry, the sense was, but Native civilization did as well. Growing up Ojibwe on a reservation in Minnesota, training as an anthropologist, and researching Native life past and present for his nonfiction and novels, David Treuer has uncovered a different narrative.
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excellent text, awful narrator
- By D. Rubinstein on 12-01-19
By: David Treuer
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Blueprint
- The Evolutionary Origins of a Good Society
- By: Nicholas A. Christakis
- Narrated by: Nicholas A. Christakis
- Length: 14 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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For too long, scientists have focused on the dark side of our biological heritage: our capacity for aggression, cruelty, prejudice, and self-interest. But natural selection has given us a suite of beneficial social features, including our capacity for love, friendship, cooperation, and learning. Beneath all our inventions - our tools, farms, machines, cities, nations - we carry with us innate proclivities to make a good society.
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Many interesting thoughts
- By Jonas Blomberg Ghini on 06-01-19
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American Holocaust
- The Conquest of the New World
- By: David E. Stannard
- Narrated by: Malcolm Hillgartner
- Length: 14 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
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For 400 years - from the first Spanish assaults against the Arawak people of Hispaniola in the 1490s to the US Army's massacre of Sioux Indians at Wounded Knee in the 1890s - the indigenous inhabitants of North and South America endured an unending firestorm of violence. During that time the native population of the Western Hemisphere declined by as many as 100 million people.
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Most important book I never heard of
- By Robert Bourque on 03-16-18
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Everything You Wanted to Know about Indians but Were Afraid to Ask
- By: Anton Treuer
- Narrated by: Kaipo Schwab
- Length: 5 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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What have you always wanted to know about Indians? Do you think you should already know the answers-or suspect that your questions may be offensive? In matter-of-fact responses to over 120 questions, both thoughtful and outrageous, modern and historical, Ojibwe scholar and cultural preservationist Anton Treuer gives a frank, funny, and sometimes personal tour of what's up with Indians, anyway.
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one of the better books
- By Erica Kerr on 07-14-18
By: Anton Treuer
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The Invisible History of the Human Race
- How DNA and History Shape Our Identities and Our Futures
- By: Christine Kenneally
- Narrated by: Justine Eyre
- Length: 12 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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In The Invisible History of the Human Race, Christine Kenneally draws on cutting-edge research to reveal how both historical artifacts and DNA tell us where we come from and where we may be going. While some books explore our genetic inheritance and some popular television shows celebrate ancestry, this is the first book to explore how everything from DNA to emotions to names and the stories that form our lives are all part of our human legacy.
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Who are you really. Who am I?
- By Annie M. on 10-28-14
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Holding Our World Together
- Ojibwe Women and the Survival of the Community
- By: Brenda J. Child, Colin Calloway
- Narrated by: Alma Cuervo
- Length: 6 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
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In this fascinating work, Associate Professor of American Studies at the University of Minnesota and Red Lake Ojibwe Nation member Brenda J. Child spotlights the remarkable women of the Ojibwe Nation. A stunning look at a seldom explored subject in history, Holding Our World Together shows how American Indian women have profoundly influenced Native American life - from the days of the European fur trade to the present - in activism, community, and beyond.
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Great book! Great narrator!
- By Briana Matrious on 10-03-18
By: Brenda J. Child, and others
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What listeners say about The World Until Yesterday
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Mike
- 04-07-15
Jared Diamond Delivers
This guy can't write a crappy book. Perhaps he over-reaches when comparing modern groups of people to more aboriginal, living peoples, but the overall message is solid.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall
- A & C Bischel
- 04-10-15
A little bit of something for everyone
This book is part anthropology, sociology, education, parenting, history and policy making. One of Jared's best works that is well organized, written and applicable for both academics and regular folks.
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- Yuriy
- 07-02-22
Stroke a chord
The stories stroke a lot of chords in my soul, especially about childhood, treating adults, resolving conflicts, taking responsibility, and respecting other cultures.
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- SJS
- 02-04-13
Fascinating!
I'm a great fan of Diamond and I enjoyed this book a lot and learned from it. The topic is one I've thought of often-- the world has recently changed so much (cell phones, Internet, pavement, airplanes, cars, movies, television, immense variety of food, medicine) but people haven't changed. Our basic needs are the same and it's not clear how well modern society fulfills some of them even while other needs are satisfied beyond the dreams of our ancestors. The two things that weren't excellent were (a) the section on diet. This is a topic that has been written about extensively all over the place so there wasn't anything new as there was in other sections and (b) the narrator was very good but not, I felt, a good match to the book, since he sounded like a young man (30s or 40s), yet the book was written in the first person by Diamond who mentioned repeatedly that he's 75 years old. I think a narrator with an older but still energetic sound would have fit better. Those minor points aside, I loved the book and recommend it highly.
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29 people found this helpful
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- Steven Ray Hill
- 06-11-18
Jared Diamond books just get better.
I can listen to Jared Diamond books over and over again and learn something new each time because they are so packed full of intereting imformation.
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- P. Jensen
- 08-22-18
A well written book with great narration
The narration was outstanding and the story was for the most part very engaging to listen to.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Robert Lovelace
- 08-23-19
Very worthwhile read
Jared Diamond writes a very knowledgeable and in depth look about traditional societies. It gives great insight to traditional societies and juxtaposes them to our current modern societies. It is a very a scholarly work. Some chapters are on the dry except for the anthropologist at heart. Overall though it's very thought provoking reading.
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- Maksim Chulyakov
- 07-06-21
We are all trapped !!!
Read this book. Lots of good ideas from traditional societies about how we can improve our own life.
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- Collin
- 01-23-14
Good look at things that once where.
Would you listen to The World until Yesterday again? Why?
I would, but would jump around a bit more to different topics I wanted to look at.
What was one of the most memorable moments of The World until Yesterday?
Diamonds personal stories were quite griping. The section on religion opened my eyes on another reason for religion that I didn't know.
Which scene was your favorite?
The store of the young child hit by a car and how justice was applied in their culture.
If you could give The World until Yesterday a new subtitle, what would it be?
How have people changed sense they once all lived in traditional societies
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- M. Edwards
- 11-28-15
Removing the Mystery
Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?
This book was a disappointment compared to a few other Diamond titles I have read. I wouldn't particularly recommend it.
Did The World until Yesterday inspire you to do anything?
(1)Write succinctly and to the point. (2) Attempt to be humble and open-minded toward others whose beliefs are different than my own. Both of the above very much unlike the attitude of the author in this book.
Any additional comments?
Due to having enjoyed GUNS, GERMS, AND STEEL and COLLAPSE, I expected more from "Traditional Societies" than what Diamond delivered. Generally, I agree with what many others have said in their reviews. I especially felt that many of his conclusions tend toward the obvious (What? I shouldn't eat these foods?). Hardly worthy of wading through such a long-winded analysis!
I listened to the audiobook version and appreciated the narration. I also appreciated the Anthropology 101 lessons near the beginning of the book describing the differences between bands, tribes, chiefdoms, and nations, and how these categories overlap and interact with decision-making structures, governments, war, agriculture, etc. I also was challenged by some of Diamond's thoughts about not taking unnecessary risks, child-rearing, and multilingualism as a preventative for Alzheimers.
I'll limit the rest of this review to express disappointment in Diamond's treatment of religion. Everyone has the right to believe what they want, but Diamond is way out of his league on the topic of religion. His presentation is elementary, one-sided, and tends toward being downright arrogant. Diamond would be well served by considering the last chapter of C.S. Lewis' THE ABOLITION OF MAN (available for free on line), which while not treating the subject of religion specifically, discusses the limits of the scientific method and the relevance of natural law. Quantum physicists (string theorists and others) have been grappling with some of these implications in recent years. Simplifications which help scientists do science sometimes break down in the end. There is still room for "mystery."
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15 people found this helpful